transportation in Buenos Aires... or how I almost died in a taxi on the way to the bus station...

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Things I miss about Buenos Aires:
--the people I´ve met there
--the beautiful BEAUTIFUL buildings
--how there´s so much to see and so much to do...
(maybe I am a city girl afterall...)
--the subte
--the weather (it´s quite cold in Mendoza)

Things I do not like about Buenos Aires:
--the drivers
--the busy streets

On my last day in Buenos Aires, I took a really chill day. Then I talked to Rachel, from Pennsylvania. She had been there for a while, and this was actually the first time we talked and had a real conversation. It was pretty amazing. We talked about a lot of stuff, and I really enjoyed it. I know you´re reading this... I already miss you! We´ll have to hang out when I get back to Buenos Aires.

I went and caught a cab from the street. Hailing a cab is very easy here. I got in, and the guy took me to the bus station. I swear, I thought I was going to die. One interesting thing about Buenos Aires lights: They change from Red to Yellow to Green to Yellow to Red. So that means people start their cars when the light is Yellow... pedestrians BEWARE! Cars will NOT stop for you. There are lots of one way streets, so it makes it very easy to j-walk. I have actually only seen one two way street.

So the cab driver was honking at EVERYONE. And being from California, we rarely honk. The cab driver also got into the middle of a lane in between a bus and another car. I thought the bus was going to hit me! As he was swerving through the city, he almost hit a lot of cars, and as we turned corners, I thought busses were going to ram into me. On the way to the bus station, he dídn´t brake fairly early, and I thought he was going to hit the car in front of me... WOW. I have never had a driving experience like that... NOT EVEN IN THE CABS IN NY! Be weary getting into a cab. You will arrive in one piece. It´s an adventure... a different kind of adventure.

The bus that I took from Buenos Aires to Mendoza was 152 pesos, about $50. This included a posh luxury bus with a reclining seat (it was a cama). They also serve you dinner on the plane and breakfast as well. It was a comfortable bus ride, and so cheap for what you get. They also showed a movie on the plane. "Chasing Liberty" which was perfect for me to watch due to some of the things i´ve experienced being on my own. I hope I don´t fall into the trap of being too comfortable being alone, however.

So I arrived at my cute little hostel. There are a few nice people here, but not as busy as the last hostel. I am going to go on a wine tasting tour later, and a mountain tour tomorrow. I´m trying to figure out how much time I want to spend here. They have a paragliding tour I could do, or a trekking and rappel and hot springs tour. If I do both, that would mean two more days... and eventually, I want to go to the downtown. People said that downtown mendoza isn´t that spectacular, but I´m here to experience the outdoors anyway.

Life is good. I´m learning a lot. I´m growing a lot. You might see a whole different person when I get back to America.

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